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Cory and Cami got married!
Posted on 07. Apr, 2010 by maryanne.
On March the 2oth, on an unseasonably warm and sunny Saturday, Cory and Cami officially tied the knot! It was such a fun day. They chose to see each other before the ceremony and share a few intimate moments before the day got underway. I felt so honored to be part of such a tender moment.
Then, they took care of all their photos ahead of time. Such a gift to all their guests! Here are a few highlights from their day. Blessings to you, Mr. and Mrs. Lebovitz! You were made for each other.
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A cup of violets
Posted on 30. Mar, 2010 by maryanne.
Another busy week in my world. Most of it spent at the computer, quoting jobs and processing photos. Then, out of nowhere, comes today. Sunshine and flowers everywhere. It was like a dear friend coming up from behind and putting their hands over my eyes, saying “guess who?”. Spring, that’s who. The cherry trees are in full bloom, the sky is a bit more blue, and the sheep have little lambs in the pasture next door. Then, there are the violets. I love violets, even though they tend to grow where I don’t want them. They remind me of my childhood and every Spring from then on. When Johnny and I came home from lunch, I saw them. The ground was covered in them. I had several things to do, but knew instinctively they would all have to wait. So, I played all afternoon. In the violets.
It was like playing hooky on a school day. I picked them, arranged them in beautiful china cups and gazed at them through my different lenses. Guess who? Spring, that’s who. Welcome home sweet friend. Here are some images from the day. I found some other sweet visitors as well.
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Youth Evangelism Conference Nashville
Posted on 24. Mar, 2010 by maryanne.
It is true that I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, if I ever do. I feel pulled in so many directions in photography. I love so many things, but am finding the importance of narrowing my focus a bit in order to stay sane. I also desire very much to find my place. I believe we all have one, and mine will not be in the same spot as so many wonderful photographers I follow. That is good. There is a famous quote by Oscar Wilde on Jeremy Cowart’s blog that I adore. He said ” Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” I like that so much. So, I am working on being myself in this crazy world of photography and life.
That being said, there is one job I absolutely love that I have had the honor of doing for three years now. It is the Youth Evangelism Conference in Nashville, TN. It is put on by the Tennessee Baptist Convention and draws nearly 9,000 teens every year to hear teaching from God’s Word, spend time in worship, and laugh and cry with the incredible artists and groups that are brought in. Every year I am moved to tears while shooting the event, whether it be in worship or listening to the speakers that come in and share their hearts with the kids. This year, Unhindered lead us in worship, The Skit Guys kept us laughing, Joe Castillo blew us away with his incredible sand art, and Ed Newton brought it all together with some serious truth. As always, it was a great weekend. Here are a few shots of the wonderful time we had.
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Creating a Place of Rest
Posted on 17. Mar, 2010 by maryanne.
My own words rang in my ears after I answered the somewhat obtuse saleswoman in Macy’s this evening. She had asked if she could help me with anything. I had been standing hypnotically in the bedding section comparing the colors in the image on my iphone with the colors on the various quilts and comforters. I awoke out of my trance and quickly answered, ” I am just looking for a comforter”, and reached again for my iphone to show her the image. She, however, had ignored me and moved on to other things. I really was seeking help, but she was apparently just reciting the line she must say hundreds of times a day, not really expecting to have someone need her. The space in time and the silence that followed allowed me to ponder my answer. ” I am just looking for a comforter”. I laughed out loud. Not “ha ha” funny. Ironic funny. I was looking for a comforter. I was looking for comfort. She had been no comfort at all.
This has been a very hard week for me for various reasons, and I found myself wandering around looking for the perfect bed covering for my bedroom. I have been doing this for months. Piece by piece, (remember the jewelry endeavor?) I am trying to create a place of order and solace in my bedroom, and eventually, my home. I want it to be a sanctuary where I can rest, journal, seek God, read, and just be with my husband.(oh, and dance!) A place of peace and safety.
I actually started the process several months ago by taking everything down from the walls. The only thing I have up is a canvas above my bed of the image above. It looks like a window above our bed with an eternal scene from autumn outside. I love the colors in that canvas. I call the image “Fall Kaleidoscope”. It is my work and it brings me joy and peace to have it there. Now, for the rest of the room. I don’t know where to start, whether it be a beautiful comforter or the wall color. (I would love suggestions!) SO many colors!
Still seeking comfort in my surroundings, in my soul, and in my spirit. I am reminded of a Scripture from Psalm 62 while I pursue this journey:
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him”. May it be so.
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We did it :)
Posted on 08. Mar, 2010 by maryanne.
There has been so much going on in my world just in the past week, but I would be negligent if I did not blog the result of ”Operation Jewelry Organization”. My fabulous mom came out last week and we spent four hours taking a mass of necklaces, earrings, rings, pins, bracelets and anklets and putting them all in their proper place. The results are fabulous! I not only thoroughly enjoyed spending quality time with my mom, but I got the benefit of having a clean and clear dresser top. I can now freely pass by it without hearing mean comments about myself, and I even hear an audible sigh of relief every now and then. I promised myself when she came out that I would ONLY focus on the jewelry that day. I am glad I did. One step at a time. (I am pretty sure my closet is next).
Mom and I spent time reminiscing about old pieces and laughing about pieces I have kept just for sentimental reasons, all the while both agreeing that they were, mmm, how should I say? Unsightly. “Um,” she would say every now and then,” I think I would throw that away”. And we both would laugh out loud. So cleansing to have your mom’s approval to throw something away! It was good on so many levels. We ended up with a pretty good size bag of things to take to the jewelry swap at her church as well.
I am truly beginning to see that organizing your world around you is a way to love yourself. I cannot explain that fully, and those that are already organized are probably nodding their heads in agreement. Those of us that struggle in this area often feel defeated. I am so thankful for my mom who was willing to the time to help me, while putting aside all judgement or critical statements. I feel loved every time I walk past my dresser now. I can now display the things that matter to me most, like the anniversary heart Chris gave me. Thanks mom. 
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Organization… (sigh)
Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by maryanne.
No, I didn’t find a treasure chest buried on my farm, even though this looks like the classic pirate’s booty you see in adventure movies. This.. is my dresser top. Okay, before you start making all kinds of rash (but probably true) judgements about me and my lack of orderliness, just know that it doesn’t always look this bad.
You see, my dresser top is a source of contention for me, every day. Every day of my life, I walk past that dresser top with things strewn everywhere. Usually it is the jewelry items I have worn in the past week (or month), my camera, picture frames that I hate but still keep, a spool of thread and a needle for mending buttons, important receipts, props from my last shoot, and dust, oh the dust. My heart cringes every time I see it, no matter what form it is in, and I think a few not-so-nice things about myself and go on with my day, feeling defeated before I have even started. Organization is my weakest character quality, and it is especially hard when I grew up with a super organized mother and sister. My artistic flair took me in other directions, and most of my life, I have dreaded even trying for fear of failure.
So, last night, I took every single item out of my jewelry box and drawers and decided to start there. I don’t think I have thrown one item of jewelry away since I was a little girl. It was actually a very nostalgic experience looking at things that were my mother’s or grandmother’s. It was also a little like Christmas seeing things I had packed away (for lack of knowing what to do with them), that I had forgotten I had. About two hours later, ( yes, two hours) this is what I had for a dresser top.
It was actually worse than this, but this is as vulnerable as I can get right now, okay? Immediately I did what any normal girl would do. I called my mother. “I need your help” I pleaded. Before I got two sentences in, she had devised a plan and a day to implement it. That’s my wonderful mom to the rescue! “Just leave it all on top like that”, she said, ” and we will have a fun day putting it all where it is supposed to go”. She even had a plan for the unwanted pieces with a church swap that is coming up for the ladies.
I will let you know how it goes! I think this is the beginning of a whole new world for me. Starting with my dresser top.
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A Piece of Faraway
Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by maryanne.
We don’t get much snow here in Georgia. Last year we got one day’s worth, and it was so magical. I felt like a little girl on that day. Then, as if someone shook the etch a sketch, it was all gone the very next day. We have had some false alarms this year, so when the weather man said it would snow on Friday, I was more than a little cynical (mostly because I wanted it so badly). However, much to my surprise, we got a great snowfall, and enough to play in too. It was a wonderful Valentine weekend surprise.
I took some photos while it was snowing on Friday afternoon, and then again Saturday morning when the sky was cerulean blue. I found my heart overwhelmed by the dramatic scenery. I asked God to help me to capture it if possible, but more than that, to breathe it in and enjoy it. I have often felt jealous of other photographers who get to travel and photograph beautiful scenery in faraway places. To quote photography icon and author Joe McNally from his book The Moment it Clicks, ” If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff “. I love that quote. The bottom line is that capturing God’s creation is at the center of my joy in photography, and I want to see more!
However, I felt thankful Saturday morning as I walked in the glory, that I had not (up until this present time) been a world traveler. I found my heart could not contain the splendor I found in my own backyard. I felt so small and incompetent as I fumbled through my bag, disapproving of each of my lens choices as soon as I placed them on the camera body. It was a humbling experience, as I once again offered up my heart, and my camera to God, and I laid down my need to perform for the approval of others. That is something we artists have to do on a daily, or even hourly basis. Anyway, this is what came of my time in the glory. Thankful for my own piece of ”faraway” that God gave me this weekend just out my back door.
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Valentine Cookie Therapy
Posted on 12. Feb, 2010 by maryanne.
Today was a hard day. With Valentine’s Day only a couple days away, I am feeling even more deeply the absence of my older two children. With one daughter studying abroad in Spain and another away at a school in Atlanta, I have only my almost seventeen year old son at home. I know Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a sweetheart day, and if my husband were away, I most assuredly would be complaining about his being gone as well. For now, it is my girls. We girls just love Valentine’s Day. Let’s face it. It is our day. I have received more Valentine’s gifts from my friends, sisters, and mom in my lifetime than I ever have from a sweetheart. We just seem to know that our hearts need it. We love surprises, and being thought of in general, and Valentine’s Day seems to bring that home. But, my girls are in faraway places, so I decided to try some Valentine cookie therapy on my own. I posted that idea on facebook, and almost immediately got a couple great recipes to try from friends. So I did. I think it was helpful, playing the John Mayer genre on Pandora, and dancing in my kitchen.
Making a big mess in the kitchen, even when you are alone, is still very therapeutic, especially when it involves lots of powdered sugar and pink icing. I decided to post a few pics from my therapy session. I still miss my girls, and I realize that eventually I am going to have to come to terms with this new phase of my life. Yes, in time, I guess I will. Hopefully, it won’t be one cookie at a time. That might bring on a whole new set of problems.:)
I am including a few other heart images I have captured this week as I am learning to play more and more.
Happy Valentines Day everyone.
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winter
Posted on 10. Feb, 2010 by maryanne.
The month of February is upon us again. I have often found it to be the dreariest month of the year. So much rain, so much cold. Even now as I write, the wind is howling at my windows, and I am forced to bundle up as I sit at my kitchen table. We have already endured one of the coldest Januaries on record for Georgia,(we are a bit wimpy when it comes to freezing temperatures), and we still have February and March to go. My heart sinks at the thought. I am not a winter fan. Days tend to drag on and I feel sluggish and really kind of useless.
It has been on my mind a lot lately, how I wish this season would just pass and be done already. As I wished for spring’s warmth, I felt a slight correction in my spirit to just “let winter be winter”. I wasn’t sure what that meant. I felt it when I passed by the weeping cherry tree on my way back from the barn last week, and saw it’s bony branches dragging against the unforgiving ground. It looked like a true picture of grief, with it’s limbs swaying back and forth like one in profound mourning. The symbolism struck me deeply. “Let winter be winter”. There is so much that happens when the earth is cold and still. There is rest, there is a true rekindling, and there is death. However, it is not an unfruitful or purposeless death. I am reminded of the scripture in John 12 where Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, that unless at kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” That same tree in the spring will be larger than it was the season before, because of winter.
As much as I protest, like a child refusing her afternoon nap, I need winter. I would absolutely burn myself out without it. I need time to be still. I need to be made to read books in quiet fire lit places, and blog on afternoons like this when it is way too cold to even go outside , much less photograph a family. I need to take naps and drink tea, and make dinner for my husband when he comes home from a long day. I need to pray, and listen to my God.
As I mused on these things one frosty morning last week, I set out with my camera and tried to capture some winter beauty. Winter light really is quite beautiful, as is the frost on the delicate leaves in the morning. I hope you enjoy these winter images. And, I hope you appreciate your winter.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ” There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:”
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Expecting Catherine Style
Posted on 07. Feb, 2010 by maryanne.
I met Salena almost three years ago when she interviewed to be part of the dance ministry at 12Stone Church. We arranged to meet at the local Starbucks and I had not yet seen her in person but only communicated with her via email. When she walked in the door, I was taken with her sense of fashion and how put together she seemed. She was donning a sleek creme trench coat she had purchased while on a trip to London with her husband, Sean. We hit it off right away. I found her easy to talk to and her laughter and heart for God contagious. I had not yet seen her dance, but I felt sure if she could dance even a little, she would be a great addition to the wonderful team of girls I lead. My intuition was right, and she soon became a team favorite, always keeping everyone laughing, and her dancing was so elegant and strong.
Now, she and her husband Sean are expecting their first baby. I was so excited when she asked me to do her maternity photos. I knew it would be fun. Salena and Sean love style so much it is their baby girl’s middle name. So, of course, we couldn’t do a typical maternity shoot for this fashionista.
See if you agree!
